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Domain Adaptation of Neural Networks for Medical Imaging under Limited Data Constraints

Aleem, Sidra (2025) Domain Adaptation of Neural Networks for Medical Imaging under Limited Data Constraints. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.

Abstract
Medical imaging analysis has advanced significantly due to developments in computer vision. However, deep learning models are typically trained on consistent data distributions, which hampers generalizability when evaluated on datasets with varying distributions. This issue is especially prominent in medical imaging, where heterogeneity arises from differences in acquisition sites, imaging protocols, scanner types, and patient demographics. Additionally, strong performance of neural networks is linked to the availability of large, labeled datasets. However, annotated data is scarce in medical imaging, and domain expertise is not readily available, further hindering robust model development. This research addresses these challenges by proposing novel domain adaptation methods to improve neural network generalization across diverse medical imaging domains. The methods achieve effective adaptation while minimizing the dependency on large labeled datasets, addressing the limited data availability in real-world medical settings. This work has developed three alternatives to supervised domain adaptation, with several key innovations: (1) A novel, unsupervised, parameter-efficient domain adaptation framework for multi-target medical imaging domains is proposed. It overcomes the limitations of supervised training and the scarcity of labeled data. (2) A novel test-time adaptation framework to adapt natural foundation models, enabling zero-shot transferability to medical tasks without relying on labeled data. It addresses several key challenges: the need for supervised training, domain-specific fine-tuning, the unavailability of annotated data, lack of domain expertise, and computational constraints. (3) A few-shot learning framework is proposed to adapt foundation models for fine-grained medical tasks, highlighting the intrinsic limitations of foundation models when applied to complex medical tasks. These frameworks have improved our understanding of how domain adaptation can be effectively utilized for medical imaging analysis with limited labeled data and high data variability. This thesis serves as a valuable resource for medical practitioners and tool developers in designing innovative algorithms and applications for healthcare.
Metadata
Item Type:Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:July 2025
Refereed:No
Supervisor(s):Little, Suzanne, Dietlmeier, Julia and McGuinness, Kevin
Subjects:Computer Science > Artificial intelligence
Computer Science > Image processing
Computer Science > Machine learning
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Engineering and Computing
DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Engineering and Computing > School of Electronic Engineering
Use License:This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. View License
Funders:Research Ireland
ID Code:31349
Deposited On:21 Nov 2025 14:42 by Suzanne Little . Last Modified 21 Nov 2025 14:42
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